Idol Headlines for 12/01/11 – The Evening Edition

Kelly Clarkson, The Fray and Christina Perri play the The Mix’s (101.9 FM) “Miracle on State Street” holiday concert Friday December 2 at The Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL (Chicago Tribune)

Blair Garner Releases Album, ‘Beyond The Hits’

BLAIR GARNER, host of PREMIERE RADIO NETWORK’s “AFTER MIDNITE WITH BLAIR GARNER,” is putting out an album featuring many of the artists that have visited his popular syndicated show. The project, “Beyond The Hits: 20 Years From Country’s Top Stars,” will be released by BLAIR’s production company, TRIPOWER. It will be released on JANUARY 10th.

Artists that are featured include ALAN JACKSON, CARRIE UNDERWOOD, LUKE BRYAN, RASCAL FLATTS, BRAD PAISLEY, MIRANDA LAMBERT, KENNY CHESNEY, and many more.

Read more at All Access

Ask Pia – Christmas, Travel, and Songwriting (Episode 8)

‘American Idol’ Grammy Nominations By the Numbers

9: The number of Grammy nominations for Carrie Underwood.

5: The number Grammy wins for Carrie Underwood. The Season 4 winner leads with the most Grammy wins of any Idol graduate.

3: The number of times Underwood has won Best Female Country Vocal Performance. They were consecutive wins.

Read more at THR

That’s Rad – Adam Lambert (Ep. 3, Season 2 – ALL ON THE LINE WITH JOE ZEE) (Clip 2)

Kelly Clarkson Talks About Topping the Hot 100 — Twice

The series kicks off today (Dec. 1) with our video (below) of Kelly Clarkson chatting about the two songs she’s seen rise to No. 1 — 2002’s “A Moment Like This” and 2009’s “My Life Would Suck Without You” — and what they’ve meant to her. “I don’t make records to have No. 1s,” she says. “But it’s really awesome when it happens. It means everyone is liking what you’re doing.”

See the video at Billboard

Kellie Pickler’s Early Christmas Present: Her Marriage

“Marriage is so special,” the country singer, 25, tells PEOPLE. “I never thought that I would get married, so I’m glad that I let that wall down. I’m glad that I let Kyle love me. He is the greatest blessing in my life.”

“He’s been doing it since before we got engaged and [then] I started a journal for him,” says Pickler. “It’s one of those things you write in not for any special occasion but just because you love one another. It shouldn’t take holidays for you to act like you like each other and be nice to one another. You should be like that every day.”

Read more at People

KELLIE PICKLER ENJOYS BUSY HOLIDAY SEASON IN ANTICIPATION OF HER NEW ALBUM 100 PROOF

With the release of her new album fast approaching, Kellie is excited to share her new music which showcases her more traditional country roots. With musical influences like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, Kellie shares her love for those artists with Grand Ole Opry emcee Eddie Stubbs on his television show, Reflections From The Circle. On the show Kellie said, “It was exciting to sit down and talk with Eddie about something we are both passionate about and that’s country music. Taped on stage of the Grand Ole Opry, the show will air on RFD-TV on Sunday, December 4 at 7:00 pm eastern time.

More at Sony Music Nashville

Kellie Pickler Readies for ‘Chaotic’ Holidays

“I have the most amazing, amazing friends, that I cherish and value,” Kellie tells The Boot. “I have a really, really close group of friends that I surround myself by, and those people know who they are. They really keep me Kellie. They wouldn’t allow me to be anything but Kellie. I’m not ‘Kellie Pickler’ when I’m not on stage. I’m just Kellie, and that’s how they treat me. I live a very normal life.”

Read more at The Boot

Constantine Maroulis Talks “Loukoumi” and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Tony nominated actor and American Idol alum Constantine Maroulis was a celebrity guest at the Loukoumi Celebrity Cookbook premiere, that took place at Barnes and Noble on Sunday, November 27, 2011 in Lexington Avenue and 86th Street. He opens up to Markos Papadatos about being a part of Nick Katsoris’ newest children’s book, which benefits such organizations as the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Chefs for Humanity, the charity of Iron Chef Cat Cora.

“It’s a great honor to be here,” Maroulis acknowledges. “Nick Katsoris is a great friend and he is doing so much great work for kids. It’s just an uplifting and beautiful story. I’m glad to be a part of it. I have a baby girl to think about now, and it’s great to know he is doing such great things for the children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and young people everywhere.”

Read more at Greek Reporter

Why ‘X Factor’ Trounces ‘American Idol’

“It was a car-crash moment,” X Factor auteur Simon Cowell said about Astro’s defiance in a conversation after last week’s show. “But I kind of like that. When it was happening, I was annoyed that Astro was going to blow his chance because of a stupid thing, but then I watched it back and thought, ‘Well, that’s how a 15-year-old from a tough background would react to getting that kind of rejection for the first time.’ It was kind of brilliant.”

The moment was rude, inappropriate, harsh—and thrilling drama, miles away from the all-smiles “I’m just so grateful for the opportunity” automaton demeanor that dominates other competitions.

The X Factor is not for everybody. American Idol is for everybody, and still, despite the assault from Simon Cowell and Mark Burnett’s The Voice, holds the ratings crown to prove it, with numbers from last season approximately double what either of the upstarts pulls in. The vast, aging middle apparently still prefers its singers humble, its judges supportive and verklempt, its stories tearjerking, and its singing styles 20 to 30 years behind today’s charts.

Read more at the Daily Beast

‘Glee’ scoop: Chord Overstreet teases Sam’s return to McKinley

Sam’s back to boost New Directions, who are sorely lacking members thanks to splinter glee club the Troubletones. Explains Overstreet: “Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Lea Michele) are looking for somebody to help them with sectionals … So they bring [Sam] back to school. He tries to kind of pick everything back up where he left off and he realizes that everything has has changed a little bit since he’s gone. He has to kind of re-adapt a little bit.” One big development is the fact that former flame Mercedes (Amber Riley) has a new boyfriend. (“They address what happened [between them] last summer,” Overstreet teases.) Still, some things — like Santana (Naya Rivera), who named Sam “Trouty Mouth” — never change. “She goes off” on Sam when he comes back, Overstreet says. “She rips me a new one.”

Read more at EW

Dancing With the Stars Winner is a Star at the Pentagon

The Pentagon’s used to seeing stars on the shoulders of its generals, but today Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top generals were rubbing shoulders with dancing star and Iraqi War veteran JR Martinez, the latest winner of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

According to Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby, in that conversation Panetta told Martinez his belief that he was “a testament to the strength and the resilience of our wounded warriors.”

Kirby said Martinez told Panetta that he “credited his military training and experience for his performance on — and his ability to prepare for — the show and reaffirmed his pride at having once served in uniform.”

Read more at ABC

About mj santilli 34841 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!